100 Themes Challenge
by MemoriesOfVoxei
Summary: Updating weekly! It is Luffy-centric, and I try to highlight the close trust and friendship he has with his crew and the fun, loving, beautiful yet painful relation he has with both of his brothers, mainly Ace. 11th Theme out! 10. Sadness: " He had friends to protect, and a dream to achieve. A difficult one at that. And he was ready to throw his regrets away for that."
1. Theme List

**100 themes challenge**

**Here is the list of the themes for this challenge, and I will try doing them in this exact order... the keyword here being try XD**

**By the way, every theme underlined is one that I have finished writing. The ones in bold are the ones I am currently working on. I guess you don't need me to tell you (but I still am telling you anyway), the ones with published beside it means they are already put on this site, under a chapter with the same name, and it is in the same exact order! XD**

1. Life - PUBLISHED

2. Youth - PUBLISHED

3. Content - PUBLISHED

4. Change - PUBLISHED

5. Dreams - PUBLISHED

6. Pessimistic

7. Pirate

8. Novel

9. Doom

10. Garden

11. Sadness

12. Confusion

13. Freedom

14. Inevitable

15. Idle

16. Vampires

17. Convention

18. Roleplaying

19. Skull

20. Pain

21. Joy

22. Time

23. Warmth

24. Voodoo

25. Insomnia

26. Solitude

27. Zombies

28. Heaven

29. Evil

30. Weary

31. Candyland

32. Robot

33. Old School

34. Puppets

35. Flight

36. Movie

37. What if...

38. Batman

39. Dance

40. O RLY?

41. Play

42. Uh-oh...

43. Duel

44. Sound Effect

45. Caption

46. Photo

47. Pants

48. Red

49. Fiesta

50. Percent

51. Soap Opera

52. Underwear

53. Stress

54. Froof

55. Mutation

56. Skeleton

57. Rock

**58. Lies**

59. Ninja

60. Message

61. Bugs

62. Effort

63. Bandaid

64. WRYYYY

65. Imaginary

66. Fly Me to the Moon

67. Discovery

68. What?

69. Adhesive

70. Underworld

71. KAWAII DESU

72. Mecha

73. Random

74. Video Game

75. Crisis

76. Insanity

77. Ice

78. Working Hard

79. Hardly Working

80. Sandwich

81. Clone

82. Clumsy

83. Keyboard

84. Hope

85. Song

86. Surprise

87. Cursed

88. Awesomeness

**89. Wolf**

90. Fire

91. Orange

92. Love

93. Annoyance

94. Misunderstanding

95. Fantasia

96. Puppy

97. Lost

98. Pie

99. Fate

100. Death


	2. Life

**So, yeah, hi everyone! As you can see, I've decided to try doing the 100 themes challenge, which I hope I'll be able to finish! I'll try updating this weekly, maybe ever Friday? What do you think? (You can suggest any day safe for Wednesday...) **

** Anyway, here is the first theme:**

**1. Life**

_Where was he? Everything was dark. He didn't felt warm. Nor did he felt cold. His whole body was completely numb; he couldn't even know if he really moved when he tried to. He couldn't remember how he ended up there, what had happened. Then, all of a sudden, a red light flashed all around him, before disappearing into nothingness as if it never appeared. Then it came again, but this time a sharp unwanted and unexpected pain shot right through his chest, burning his insides, and he remembered._

_ He remembered his brother. He remembered that he had to save him. He remembered that he willingly went down all of Hell's level to get him out of there, only to miss him. And he remembered murders happening, people who wanted to protect him and help him with his quest. He also remembered seeing his much wanted brother on the execution platform, calling out to him. He remembered being able to finally free him after having fought with marine officers, captains and admirals, and pushing aside his own grandfather. He remembered fighting alongside his much wanted brother, ignoring his tiredness and his rapidly dropping strength. And he remembered his much wanted brother turn around and fight instead of running. And he remembered looking at his much wanted brother's vivre card. And he remembered the beginning of his nightmare. He remembered his much wanted brother's chest with a big lava fist coming out of it, burning his flesh, his blood and his organs. Then he remembered his much wanted brother's last words. Then he remembered the darkness. And __̶_

"Luffy!" The water splashing on his face suddenly woke him up, the cold liquid mixing with his sweat droplets, and the captain instantly sat up. His heart was racing like crazy and at first the only thing he could still see was the darkness that was also enveloping him in his dream. His breathing was fast and new sweat was appearing on his forehead as he constantly ran his memories into his mind in a never ending circle, until a firm hand gripped his shoulder, ripping him away from his trance.

The raven haired boy looked at the hand's owner to find a shadow standing beside his hammock, and for a moment he thought that it was Ace, which brought sudden joy in his heart at the thought that all of it has only been a bad dream. But as the men quarter's door opened, letting a small moonlight enter the room along with a tall skeleton, Luffy was disappointed to discover Zoro's face instead of his brother's, and his heart broke once again.

The captain said nothing as he remembered where he was, and what time it was. The skeleton answered his question before the raven haired boy could even opened his mouth to say a single word.

"It is your turn for watch, Luffy-san." Brook whispered, heading to his own hammock. He didn't ask anything about why Zoro was standing beside his bed and even why fluids were flooding down his cheeks. He was glad he didn't ask, because he wasn't sure he'd have the strength to say anything.

The green haired swordsman silently grabbed his captain's forearm, pulling him gently away from the couch. Getting the hint, Luffy follows his first mate, hopping down the comfortable resting place, stumbling a little from tiredness, then accompanied him out of the room onto the ship's deck.

It was a starless night, and the moonlight was illuminating Thousand Sunny in a different way than usual, it seemed. The wind was blowing softly, ruffling the teen's black hair, as he walked behind Zoro toward the main mast. His black pirate flag with the Strawhat symbol on it, HIS symbol on it, was standing proudly against the sky, ready to challenge anything coming its way.

No word was said as both men climbed to the crow's nest, although the captain was wondering, he did not ask. He watched his first mate as he started doing some light training as a warm up, and he understood.

Luffy sat next to one of the windows, looking calmly at the sea stretching to the horizon. The moon was reflected on the calm waters, slightly deformed by the ripples, but there nonetheless. He saw none of that though, as his mind was replaying his dream, as he was remembering of _that_ moment, tears threatening to fall from his eyes once again.

Slowly, but surely, the thoughts in his head were starting to die as his body relaxed to the sound of Zoro's training equipment filling the room. And he remembered. He was not alone.

He had lost his brother, that's for sure, but what kept him from crossing to the side of complete desperation were his nakama. And what made him choose to train for two years were also his nakama. And what made him be able to go through that training were again his nakama. And what made him enjoy his daily life on his ship were also his nakama. He would do anything for them, even if it's accepting his dear brother's death and try to be happy.

He didn't have to try to be happy anymore though. Because now he truly was. Maybe he witnessed death. Maybe he felt pain. But he also felt love. He loved his nakama. And all these good and bad things are part of life.

He was alive.

Luffy slowly fell back asleep, completely relaxed by those thoughts and moreover by knowing his first mate's presence beside him, and all the others sleeping inside the ship. He was supposed to be on watch tonight, but he trusted this task with his swordsman, who smiled tenderly as he heard Luffy's snoring, meaning no nightmare were threatening to disturb his sleep anymore.

**So, that was it. Tell me what you think of this first chapter! Next one coming: Youth! Any ideas for that one? :P**


	3. Youth

** Helloow! As promised, here is the second drabble for this new chllaenge of mine! It probably isn't as good as the first one, but please forgive me!**

** Read on!**

**Youth**

Everyone in the crew knows how Luffy act and react. They've seen him yell for food, they've heard him make stupid comments that made no sense, they've felt him jump on them and throw them on the ground with excitement.

They've seen him smile at them affectionately, they've heard him call them his nakama and his family, they've felt him envelop them with his unwavering love for them.

They've seen him bare his teeth angrily at his enemy, they've heard him threaten his victim of oncoming agony, they've felt him drown his opponent with his overwhelming hatred.

They've seen him waste drops of water spilling from his eyes, they've heard him repress sobs in the middle of the night after having a dream of his dead brother, they've felt him curl up on himself as he sat on Sunny's figurehead looking at the sea.

They've seen him stand still with wide eyes as he saw his first mate suddenly disappear from his sight under Kuma's touch, they've heard him call his name with a trembling voice frightened to the core, they've felt him loose his determination as he withered from his fear.

They've seen him avoid looking at their eyes knowing he had done something wrong, they've heard him mumble an apologize with clear regret piercing through his whisper, they've felt him hesitate before coming back to them as he was ashamed of what he had done.

They've seen him jump in excitement before something he found he really cool, they've heard him exclaim his admiration for unnatural and weird things, they've felt him run on deck playing some kind of game with some of his crew mates.

They've seen him use his rubber body as a shield when cannonballs came flying at them, they've heard him call their names with something deeper than love inside his heart, they've felt him stand beside them, not in front nor behind, as they faced a marine army.

They've seen him clench his fist when someone insulted them, they've heard him growl of anger when the enemy would underestimate them or threaten them, they've felt him launch himself forward the strongest opponent to beat to crap out of him.

They've seen him refuse to eat as a shadow of sadness was covering his eyes, they've heard him call softly names of his childhood with nostalgia, they've felt him draw back from them as he wished to be alone for a while.

They've seen him tremble whenever any of them was injured, they've heard him scream himself awake when he had a frightful nightmare, they've felt him freeze as he imagined or remembered any event in which one of them was badly hurt.

Everyone in the crew knows how Luffy act and react. They know he can feel joy, love, anger, sadness, fear and even regret. They know that throughout all of their time together, he has grown up and become more mature. They know that after these two years of training, he wasn't completely the same as he was before they separated. He felt all of that, emotions, feelings, he's seen awful things and went through abominations, all things that no child went through. He had forever lost his innocence. However, they know that nothing will change that fact:

Luffy is forever Luffy.

Luffy is forever youthful.

** So, yeah, it was really short... and the theme is not as evident in the story as the previous one, but there nonetheless! I almost forgot to publish it today, since a lot has been going on (actually, not a lot, but one specific big thing ;P), and, yeah, it just slipped off my mind.**

**Anyway! This was the second theme, Youth, please review, favourite and follow! PLEASE REVIEW I REPEAT!**

** If you have any request regarding anything, you can always tell me! It would be my pleasure to try my best and make you happy by doing anything you want me to! (I'm talking about writing here... don't take this too far... XD) You can check the themes list and tell me if anything's on your mind for whichever theme! It will really help me!**

** Thanks for your support!**

** Voxei**


	4. Content

** So here is the third theme! I know it's really short, but I promise the next one will be a little longer XD**

** To anyone reading Broken Promise, I apologize for the lack of updates recently, but I just don't have time to write anything down because I just moved out and there is just so many things I have to do... I will try to update during next week, but the chapter will be shorter than the previous one, unless I decide to update in two weeks instead... **

** So yeah, I saw that content had many meaning, either one of being pleased by what you have, one of something held in some specific thing (box, glass or whatever), or the content of a story/book or whatever. It's easy to see which one I chose as you read on, so I suggest you do read XD**

* * *

When he was a child, the boy wanted friends. After he met Shanks, he wanted to be a pirate. When Shanks left, he wanted to be the Pirate King. When he met Ace, he wanted to be friends with him. When he became friends with Ace and Sabo, he wanted to become their brother. When he became their brother, he wanted to create a pirate crew with them. He even wanted to be the captain. When it was decided that Ace would be captain, and when Sabo left, he wanted to create his own crew by himself and be the captain.

Later on, he left on his own. He wanted Zoro to be his nakama. He wanted Nami to be his navigator. He wanted Usopp to join them. He wanted his own pirate ship with his own pirate flag. He wanted Chopper to be his doctor. He wanted Robin to stay alive and stay with them. He wanted Franky to be their shipwright. Then, he wanted to give a proper funeral to Merry and have a new different ship, Sunny. He wanted Brook to join them because he was a living and talking skeleton, and he also wanted him to be his musician. He still wanted to be the Pirate King. He wanted to give his hat back to Shanks.

After all of that, once they were all separated across the world, he wanted to find his nakama back. But then he learned about Ace and wanted to free him from Impel Down. Failing, he wanted to save Ace from the execution platform. Failing there again...

He had lost his two brothers. Sabo was killed by the Celestial Dragon, and Ace was killed by an Admiral, right in his arms. He had lost his family, but he still wanted a lot of things.

He wanted to go back in time. He wanted Sabo to live freely away from the nobles, on the sea as a pirate. He wanted to save Ace, making sure he never get caught by the Marines ever. He still wanted to be Pirate King. And he wanted to make his crew members dreams come true. He wanted to travel the world and reach Raftel. But, most of all, he wanted his big brother to be still alive and well. He wanted to wake up from this painful nightmare.

And when he woke from the nightmare, he remembered he didn't want anything more anymore. He didn't want anything. He was fairly content with what he already had: his friends, his crew, his nakamas... his family. That's all he ever needed, and he had it.

He was content with only that.

* * *

** So this is it for the third theme, which really isn't long, but I'm really pleased with it. It's only a small drabble, and as you've noticed I'm trying to make the 100 Themes Luffy centric. You can always take a look at the themes list in "chapter 2", and if you ever have some kind of idea for one of them, don't hesitate to tell me XD Of course, I'll give credits! **

** As always, I'm waiting for reviews, because this is what keeps me going! I just might bite your hand off if you don't :P**

** See you next week with "04 – Change"!**

** Voxei**


	5. Change

**Here, as promised this is the fourth theme: Change! Somehow, I had some small difficulties with this one, but in the end, when I finally got over those tiny problems, it was really fun to write! I like this challenge so far, really! I really hope I'll be able to do all 100 themes, it would be really awesome, right?**

** It seems I'll have more difficulties with the next one, "Dream", does anyone have some kind of idea? I'd be glad to receive some! Anything is fine, even if it doesn't have anything to do with the theme in question. I am also opened to any suggestion concerning the other themes that you can find in "chapter 2": Themes List.**

** Read on!**

* * *

Luffy was sulking.

He was sitting on Sunny's figurehead, shoulders slumped and completely silent. He had been there for a really long moment already, his time perception completely shut off as he gazed at the still dark waters reflecting the night's full moon, its ripples silently lulling the ship to sleep.

He was thinking about a lot of things. About the dream of his childhood that had woken him up in the first place. About Sabo's death, his gentleness and his love for him, his pranks and his fighting skills, trying to remember his face, his voice and his touch that he had since long forgotten because of the lack of contact with him. About Garp's absence when he was small, his deadly trainings and his love-filled occasional hugs, his disappointed look each time he talked about becoming a pirate instead of a marine like his grandfather wished him to. About Dadan's presence as she yelled at him and his brothers for doing something stupid, her cocky grin and loud laugh, her big rough hands treating his injuries after hunting a tiger or after fighting his siblings. About Makino's sweetness, her warm embraces and her kind smile, her gentle fingers running through his hair, her simple meals making his heart fill up with some unknown emotion. About Shank's playfulness, his pirate-like speech as he described one of his too many adventures, his toothy grin when he was making fun of him, his sparkling eyes firing up whenever he looked at his crew, and at him, showing how much he loved the all. About Ace's youth, his murderous intent when he set up traps for him, his constant teasing and his tries, always succeeding, at working his little brother up and picking up a fight with him, his tenderness glowing in his eyes, illuminating the night and chasing the images of his nightmares away, his comforting hug and his tears of sadness closing the gap between the two of them when they learned Sabo's death, and... And his promise. "I will never die."

The rising sun's light shot lasers in his eyes, forcing the teen to close them to protect them, which caused tears to fall on the wood beneath him.

Luffy was still sulking. He hadn't moved at all ever since he got there, and he was so lost in his thoughts and memories that he couldn't feel the numbness that took over most of his legs because of his stillness.

The crew hadn't miss that.

When Luffy first came on deck in the middle of the night, Robin, who was keeping watch for the second half, spotted him right away. She considered advising him not to go in the galley this night because she had seen Sanji set nasty ones up, but when she noticed his slumped figure, she knew he wasn't out for that purpose. Maybe a comforting hug would make him feel better. However, as his eyes locked onto hers, a dark shadow lingering behind the moon's reflection, she knew this wasn't good either.

Before long, the cook's eyes stopped on his captain's back for while as soon as he had left the men quarters. He was up early to prepare breakfast, as usual, and wasn't expecting to see Luffy tlike this. He was about to call out to him, to make him help prepare something for the ladies, when he noticed some kind of dark aura around him. Now wasn't the time.

The sun slowly rose above the horizon, illuminating Sunny Go with its warm rays, and the crew members got up one after the other. They all took notice of their rubber captain who seemed completely lost n his thoughts, something that happened every often once in a while. They had all a pretty good idea of what was on his mind, but they also all knew better than to pop his bubble. Luffy was still sad about what had happened, angry at himself for failing so miserably, ans so _pained_, that his crew couldn't do anything to help him as they wished they could. He had changed a lot since two years ago. By now, the Strawhat Pirates knew when their goofy captain wasn't goofy anymore and looked at the horizon without acknowledging anyone, it meant he was gone to some far away time and place, where they couldn't reach him.

However, he would always come back. Although a dark shadow always lingered in his eyes, although his smile was an inch smaller and his laugh always a little sour, he would still pretend to have been the same, as if nothing had happened.

Even though he was thinking about a lot of things, Luffy heard all of his companions doing their usual morning work. He knew they were fully capable of taking care of everything without hi being there: they always did since the very beginning. He knew they had talked to each other in whispers, trying not to disturb him too much from his thinking, although they all wanted him to snap out of it. He knew they wanted to help him, and he knew they couldn't. Even if they could, he knew he wouldn't let them help. He wouldn't burden them with his own problems.

He heard someone drop down near him, leaning their back on the rails. He knew it was Zoro. He heard his silent speech, or rather he felt his eyes creating hole in the back of his head, and he _understood_. And he knew he was _right_.

It was time for him to _change_. For good, this time.

The sun was high in the sky, announcing diner time, when the whole crew gathered in the kitchen, eating in silence. Suddenly Goofy Luffy busted in, yelling for food. And the crew was glad he had come back. But they were stunned. This time, he had come back for real. No shadow. True smile. Heartful laugh.

Zoro smirked. His captain had listened to him. He had _changed_. For real. See? That's all it took: a silent scolding.

* * *

**So? How did you like that? It was a bit longer than the three previous ones, and I'm happy about that. I'm not really planning on making all themes long chapter: that's not the point. Still, I have a few themes already chosen to make really long one-shots (at least I'll try to ;P).**

** OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH HONEYDEE FOR ALWAYS LEAVING A REVIEW! There aren't a lot of people who read any kind of challenges on fanfiction, mainly, I guess, ****because it is never finished. Well, **_**I**_** (capitalize this letter in double, please!) am planning on doing every theme. I WANT TO COMPLETE THIS CHALLENGE! So I beg all of you to help through it, by either giving me ideas (I give credits, of course!), reviewing(I always appreciate that, you can't guess how happy it makes me) or simply by favouriting and following (which makes me feel loved! And appreciated!)**

** Oh, I guess I never wrote this before, and maybe I should... but I don't own One Piece or any of its settings, plots and characters... all I own are the words posted here, aside from the names, which all belong to Oda... This really awesome guy, you know? Or was it a God? O_O Dunno anymore, it's confusing...**

**This still unknown and unimportant author that awaits for your reviews,**

**Voxei**


	6. Dream

**Remember when I said I thought I'd be having difficulties with this one? Well, I guess you could say that I lied... :P No, I really thought it would be harder, but it just suddenly came up, and I just wrote, and that's how it ended up! **

** Next theme coming up: Pessimistic! Anyone have some kind of idea? As usual, if you have any idea for any of the other themes found in the themes list, just tell me! (I'll be giving credits, of course!) And by the way, I decided to put my progress in the themes list "chapter 2". The underlined themes are the one that I already finished writing, and whether they are published or not will be written beside it. The ones I'll be working on will be in bold. XD I also have a progress list on my profile for all three of my fanfictions, 100 Themes Challenge, Broken Promise, and Dark Ages! Go take a look!**

**So, here it is! The fifth theme: DREAM!**

* * *

That night, he saw his brothers. He saw them every night, and this did not make him happy. Not at all. He would see them as he saw them as a child, tall, strong, teasing and protective. They would fight against each other. They would hunt and fish together. They would play together. They would steal things from people at the Grey Terminal together. They would run through the forest together. They would sit at the top of a cliff overlooking the sea together. They would promise to become the Pirate King, to become freer than anybody can be, to live without any regrets, and to _not die_, to each other.

_"I will never die."_

He opened his eyes. It was dark, though it was not black. White mist stood above the ground, enveloping him like a mother would to her child. Clouds freeing the moon, a pale light dimmed down on him and on everything around him. Bare feet on the cold earthy ground beneath him, he walked. And he cried.

A silent bell was ringing slowly, echoing sadness, pain and _agony _in his empty heart. Because he knew. He knew all to well what it was saying. What it was crying out. Who it was crying for. Now, he looked like all those trees contouring him: nude, gloomy, skeletal. Their branches seemed like Death's hand, promising to come to him once again in the near future, their shadows were like his childish fears crawling out to him, grasping his almost non-beating heart in an attempt to make it beat faster, stronger, to make him feel scared and, eventually, _alive_. But he didn't care. All he saw were the dry leaves crackling under his non-existing weight. All he heard was the still low pitched ringing bell. All he felt was emptiness.

And loneliness. And sadness. And fear. And _agony_.

He opened his eyes once more. And now, added to the mist, the starless sky, the silver moon, the dead leaves and the monstrous trees, there, there were graves. Everywhere. And there, a tall gloomy structure where, at its top, a big coppery bell was dancing back and forth at the rhythm of some ghostly figure pulling a long rope up and down strongly. And there, a couple of other figures, only shadows in the mist, were walking as fast as he was, holding some kind long, big, heavy-looking, shiny, black box. And he understood. And his heart grew even colder if that was possible. It was lowered down impossibly slowly, and, almost to his relief, it had finally disappeared from his sight under the horizon. But once again, he understood.

He changed his walking direction to the figured throwing earth down in the hole at a torturing pace. At the thought, he would be seeing him one last time, he had to hurry, so at the thought, he started to run. He ran and ran. And he ran still, but he never seemed to get nearer.

He opened his eyes again, as he now stood where the figures should have been. There was no more hole. No more box. No more Ace. He let a small trembling breath out. _His last_. He looked up at the night's sky, expecting to find a big silver round moon. But instead, he remembered.

He remembered and he saw. A hidden house they had built together. A pirate flag they had created together. They pushed each other down in the dust. They had mockingly laughed at each other. They had run together. They had played together. They had stolen together. They had fought together. They had fled together. They had eaten together. They had slept together. They had lived together. And he remembered.

They had _dreamt_ together.

_If only somebody, _anybody,_ would wake him up from this awful dream..._

* * *

"Luffy!" They all yelled together.

He opened his eyes, and he saw them. Nami. Usopp. Chopper. Sanji. Franky. Robin. Brook. Zoro. His crew. They were all hunched aver the railings, looking down at him as he fell in the sea. He smiled.

They had woken him up from this _awful dream_. Nami. Usopp. Chopper. Sanji. Franky. Robin. Brook. Zoro. His crew. His nakama.

His _real_ dream.

* * *

**This one was a little shorter than the previous one... but, still, did you like it? Tell what you thought about it! It's always a pleasure to receive reviews of my writtings, it psyches me up a LOT!**

** For all of my Broken Promise readers, I am sorry for the wait of the next chapter... Like I probably said already, I moved out recently and I have a lot of things to do mainly because of that. Plus, I'm trying to write lots of themes in advance before the start of college, so at the time, if I ever don't find the time to write, I won't have to make you wait for me to finish it before posting a new chapter... And I'm really stuck with that new fic of mine, Dark Ages, which I highly recommend you to read.**

** Here again, I don't own One Piece or any of its content... only the words, except for the character names, that I wrote down here... please forgive me...**

**By the way, I've been thinking of doing bonus themes depending of the situations. I might make one once I reach 25 reviews, or maybe 1000 views. Something like this. It is unsure yet. I opened up a poll on my profile, and you are free to choose up to three themes listed there that interests you! I will also list them below, and you can give me your answers in review too :P Just don't forget to also tell me what you think of this fic first XD**

**- Runaway**

**- Precious Treasure**

**- Two Roads**

**- Illusion**

**- Breaking the Rules**

**- Keeping a Secret**

**- Poison**

**- Mask**

**- Zodiac**

**- Nostalgia**

**I'll be waiting for your votes and your reviews!**

**This overexcited author currently in a writing spree,**

**Voxei**


	7. Pessismistic

**I'm back again! Hope you liked the previous one, Dream. This one, Pessimistic, is really completely a drabble. It's really short, and the sentences are very messed up if you ask me... I only wrote everything that came into my mind, everything that could fit Luffy's state of mind after waking up and finding out that Ace was really dead. I figured nostalgia would be stronger than ever, and I wanted to base this chapter solely on that... but I ended up taking another turn, that also matches with Pessimistic. I'm not implying anything in this drabble, only possible thoughts of a young highly depressed teen.**

Luffy was now the only one left out of his brothers. They were three, then two, then only one. He couldn't remember what he had done wrong for it to end up like it did. Where did he mess up? What did he do? Why hadn't it work out like it should have? The teen's mind was filled with past memories, trying to figure out the mistake that brought this all upon himself. He was sad, in pain, in _agony_. He couldn't accept what had become of his brothers. His eyes couldn't see whatever was real in front of him and persisted on showing moments, part of his past, times he spent with his brothers, and with his brothers alone. Moments that would be lost forever if he happened to even forget them. He had to admit, he was scared. He had no one to share those memories with anymore, giving his opinions and listening to the other's opinions, without having to explain what name was giving to whom and what relation he had with that person. He couldn't laugh at his brothers' past mistakes, provoking them into a fight in doing so. There was no more Ace no call him weaker than him, no more Sabo to stop Ace from killing him. There was no more anyone to share those remembrances with without many words. He couldn't bear it. The pain of loosing it all was too great. The nostalgia waves that kept on hitting him dead on were getting stronger and stronger each minute he was living without his brothers there. His heart ached, and his stomach lurched disgustingly at the thoughts. He was alone. In the end, Ace was right: he was weak. He always said that he loved him, he always ruffled his hair with affection, but in the end he had betrayed him. He was too weak. How could he protect anyone that way? Another wave of nostalgia hit him. He remembered sharing a cup of sake with Sabo and Ace, when they shared their promise all the while. He wanted to talk to them about it. Tell Ace how stupid he's been to promise that he would never die. He wanted to tell Sabo that he should have stopped Ace from hitting his head and call him stupid whenever he made a comment. He wanted to tell Ace that he would be stronger than him the next day, because he believed it, and because at the time he was _alive_. Which he was not anymore. Because he had shown weakness. A weakness that he shouldn't show anymore, but he couldn't erase. Love.

_I'm sorry, Ace, Sabo._ _If only I was able to move forward..._

**Like I said, it's kind of messed up up there. No flames please, I am not implying any suicidal acts or thoughts, there is no character death in this drabble, although it may sound highly possible. Only nostalgia, regret, and a wish to get over his brother's death, and a fear to forget.**

** I know it wasn't really good, the previous ones are way better, in my opinion. Please forgive me DX I'll definitely do something in the next chapter: Pirate! Also, if anyone has any idea for the themes Freedom, Inevitable and Idle, feel free to share it with me x3**

**Thanks to all who supported me, be it by favouriting and following, by reviewing or by giving me ideas for my themes! I really wish to finish this challenge, and getting help from my readers always makes me happy. A lot.**

** See you next week!**

** Voxei**


	8. Pirate

**HIYAAAA! Hello everyone! This, for a change, is going to be a really light chapter XD Let's forget about those dark thoughts a little and proceed with deep feelings of love and friendship! **

**Please read this new chapter, the 7th theme: Pirate!**

For Zoro, being a pirate was a way to achieve his goal. He would have done anything to reach it, and when Luffy offered to save him from certain death in exchange of working under him, he accepted. If he didn't' it would have meant death, and dying wouldn't let him become the best swordsman of the world. Also, it so happens that being a pirate would allow him to cross swords with Mihawk, currently the number one, and since defeating him is the only way to take his place, being a pirate surely was useful. He didn't care if people thought of him as good or as bad. He had a goal, and he planned to cross the finishing lie. So, why not?

For Usopp, being a pirate meant adventure. He had heard really incredible tales of pirates going to incredible islands, living incredible adventures, fighting incredible opponents, be it beast, human or monster, and returning with incredible glory. He always dreamt of being a hero, a grand warrior of the sea. He didn't want to be a coward anymore. He was weak, a liar, a wimp. He was tired of living that way. He wanted to be the great captain Usopp-sama from his tales he were telling Kaya. So, when Luffy offered him to become a pirate, have lots of adventures, he accepted. Because one day, he wanted to go back to his friend and tell her more tales again, but this time, he would be speaking with complete honesty.

For Sanji, being a pirate was an occasion to make his childhood dream come true. As a cook, he had heard tales of All Blue, where the fishes from all the seas gather. He had dreamt of finding this legendary sea, a cook's paradise. However, whenever he had talked about his dreams to other adult cooks, he had been laughed at and told that it was only a fairytale. He had almost given it up, working only to pay Zeff back for having saved his life, when a raven haired boy showed his amazement at his supposedly stupid dream. So, when Luffy offered him to become a pirate, he accepted. Because sailing the seas was the only way to reach All Blue, and by reaching All Blue, he would make his dream come true, at the same time completely paying Zeff back for his sacrifice.

For Nami, being a pirate meant freedom. Ever since she was young, she had been serving Arlong as his navigator. He was holding her whole village hostage, and if she wanted them to be free, she had to buy it back at a really high price. She had started to steal from pirates, and even planned to steal from a raven haired wannabe pirate, but soon she learned it was all a lie. She was meant to be the slave of a fishman pirate all her life. At least, until a rubberman came and beat up Arlong. So, when Luffy offered her to become a pirate, she accepted. Because, although she had hated pirates for so long, she could never resent this crew. Because this crew represented freedom, a beautiful thing she has always yearned for.

For Chopper, being a pirate meant friendship. As a humanoid reindeer, he has always been excluded from society. Ever since he ate that devil fruit, he lived in exclusion. At first, he tried to mingle with his own kind, but he learned the hard way that he wasn't wanted. So, since he was now partly human, he did his best to be accepted by the humans, the ones living in that snowy town. However, there again, he was utterly rejected. He was being called a monster, fear and hatred showing clearly in their eyes as they told him he should never have been born. One person accepted him, though. He took care of him as he would with his own son. And he passed on his love for science to him. Chopper wanted to be like him: kind, caring, considerate, and he wanted to be a doctor. And he became one. Still, he was always rejected by everyone, until Luffy came. Luffy showed him that people like the one he considered his father still existed in the world. People able to care for him for who he really was, not a bloodthirsty monster. So, when Luffy offered him to become a pirate, he accepted. Because in that offer, the raven haired boy promised him acceptance, caring, fun, adventure and, more importantly, friendship. This so simple thing with no price that people often took for granted, and that simple feeling of belonging somewhere that comes with it was all he ever yearned for. So, he accepted.

For Robin, being a pirate meant having a family. Ever since she was a young child, the woman had been placed along the criminals, with a bounty on her head. She always had to run away, from marines, bounty hunters and even pirates. She was way too young to survive on her own in that cruel world, so she had no choice to use other pirates. She joined their crew to travel and try to reach her dream, but they were never more than disposable things. However, when she met Luffy and the others, she couldn't help but grow attached to them. Luffy had saved her life, and she was glad for it, because it had given her a second chance in life. She couldn't erase the past, but now she could see straight ahead without lowering her head in regrets and shame, because that's what the raven haired boy taught her. She had used so many people as her shields, using their lives to protect her own. But with Luffy and his crew, she was willing to give up her own life to act as their shield and to protect them. And that's what she had decided to do. But, there again, the teen didn't let her do as she wanted and saved her. He allowed her to live their adventures, and although she had said she only wanted to die, he still saved her. So, when Luffy offered her to become a pirate, she accepted. Because he promised her that they would truly care for her, like siblings would. He promised to become her family, and having been alone for so long, a family was not what she wanted, it was what she needed.

For Franky, being a pirate meant responsibilities. As a young boy studying under Tom, he had always wanted to create his own ship. The _ultimate_ ship. The _one and only one_ that would travel the whole world and get in the biggest of adventures. However, he ended up in the opposite line of work after Tom's death. He had to destroy ships instead of building them. It wasn't that bad of a job, but it still wasn't what he wanted. However, he had met _that_ ship. Merry, the ship radiating with love for her crew. She had travelled through a lot, that much was obvious, and it was because of her travels that she ended up in front of him. She was dying, couldn't transport her crew anymore. He knew the ship loved them, but he didn't know how much the crew loved her until the moment of her funerals, when they were all giving her pained farewells, lots of respect for her and regrets for not having taken care of her properly to avoid this heartbreaking separation. Seeing all of this, though, changed Franky point of view. He had new requirement for his dream ship, dream that had been re-awaken by that raven haired crying boy. He wanted his dream ship to be like Merry and, most of all, he wanted his ship to have a crew like them. No, he wanted his ship to be _his_ ship, the Pirate King's ship. Luffy's ship. So he brought the Thousand Sunny into this world, to become that crew's new companion. He was sure that his ship would be well taken care of, and didn't mind to stay behind and watch Sunny sail away. However, when Luffy offered him to become a pirate, he accepted. Because although Sunny was Luffy's ship, it was still his responsibility to make sure the lion fulfil his purposes: travel the whole world, live the biggest of adventures, love his crew, being loved by his crew and being the Pirate King's ship. But, for it to be all completely true, he had to make sure that Luffy really becomes the Pirate King. Because that was his responsibility.

For Brook, being a pirate meant life. When he first became one, he had wanted freedom and adventures. And he got them both, until that happened. He was killed, and so were all of the members in his crew. The difference between him and them, though, was that he couldn't die like they did. Because of that devil fruit. He got stuck on this ship on which he travelled for so long, the bones of his companions the only sign of human "life" on the ghost ship, floating in a sea of fog. Plus, he had had his shadow stolen, so he couldn't even try to get out of there by fear of getting killed by the sun. It's not like he could escape the fog in the first place anyway. He was doomed to live painful long years of sorrow and loneliness. He cursed his devil fruit so many times that even God had lost count of it. And soon, really soon, he thought that dying was way better than live so long like he did. Silence was his only answer when he talked, his own echoes were his only comfort when he mourned for his fallen companions. However, meeting with this raven haired boy was the only happiness he had felt since he got stuck there. His crew was loud, energetic, _alive_, much like their captain, and the dead skeleton felt a sharp pain in his rib cage when looking at them, because it made him remember of his old times he could never go back to. Instead, he would get roam the fog in sorrow and loneliness until the end of the world finally comes. So, when Luffy asked him to be a part of his crew, he refused. Because he would only be a burden to them, having to hide from both the sun and the people. But the boy just smiled and finally did as he said he'd do: get his shadow back. He didn't have any good reason to refuse anymore. So, when Luffy offered him to become a pirate once again, he accepted. Because Luffy, behind those words, proposed him to live, for real. Because he might never go back to the old times, but now he could at least move forward. He would not forget any of his past, and he wasn't betraying his old crew. He didn't leave them behind. Rather, he brought them with him as he continued forward, embracing them in his heart. Because he might have cursed his devil fruit ability, but now he believed that all that pain had been worth living if it was to be a part of Luffy's crew.

For Luffy, being a pirate meant all of that, and much, much, much more. Being a pirate was a way to reach his goal. It was in fact the _only_ way. It also meant adventures, just like the stories Shanks used to tell him when he was younger, or maybe even more awesome than those. It meant an occasion to make his dream come true. To become the Pirate King, he had to find One Piece, and to find One Piece, he had to roam the seas, which meant being a pirate. It also meant freedom. He would live with his own rules, doing what he thought was right. It was a way to make better justice than the one the marines claimed to bring. Being a pirate meant making new friends, building a strong and solid relation with his crew members, creating his second family, one by bond a lot more tight and important than blood relations. Being a pirate was also a responsibility, because he had to make sure his whole crew stayed safe through all of their adventures. He had to make sure that each one of them was happy being within his crew and that they eventually reach their own individual goals. Being captain, it was his responsibility to make sure that each member performs all of their tasks, respected and obeyed him. It was his responsibility to keep peace onto his ship and that everything was getting along in harmony. Being a pirate, for Luffy, meant his life. It made him who he was and he couldn't even dare to imagine being something else. For Luffy, being a pirate meant the whole world.

And every one of his crew members, from Zoro to Brook, knew all of this. Actually, it might be the only real reason why each of them accepted being a pirate.

Because Luffy had become their whole world.

**How did you like that? Each paragraph is dedicated to each member of Luffy's crew, starting with the first one who joined, Zoro, until the last, Brook. Everything is about what it means to be a pirate from each crew member's point of view, as well as why they accepted to follow Luffy. Somehow, I think Zoro's really isn't developed compared to the others... it was really hard finding anything else though DX So I'm sorry about that. I had a bit difficulties when I reached Franky's part, too. I mean, I could have said friendship or family too, but I wanted each crew member to have their once concept, and I figured that since Franky IS the oldest (aside from Brook), he would kind of feel like he was responsible for the whole crew. Do you think it was a good idea? Please leave a review and let me know what you thought of this chapter!**

**I must thank Honeydee, for she was the one who gave me the starting idea, which was simply: why don't you write about what made them become a pirate? Because, after all, pirates ARE considered evil by most of the population... So, thank you, Put, for helping me out with this one (amongst many others :P)**

**Besides all that, if anyone has any idea for Idle, Freedom, Vampires and Convention, and don't mind sharing it with me, please do so! Because I will definitely need it! **

**Also, the poll on my profile for a bonus theme is still open, and I really REALLY need you, my readers, to vote as soon as possible so I can start working on it sooner, so it can be longer AND BETTER. Here are the choices:**

**1. Poison**

**2. Illusion**

**3. Breaking the Rules**

**4. Precious Treasure**

**5. Zodiac**

**6. Two Roads**

**7. Runaway**

**8. Nostalgia**

**9. Keeping a Secret**

**10. Justice**

**11. Mask**

**I know it's a lot, but you can chose up to three out of all of them. Thanks a lot to everyone who supports me with this 100 Themes Challenge!**

**-Voxei-**


	9. Novel

** Here I am again! Please don't be too depressed from my repetitive greetings... Anyway, this one is definitely a light chapter, not a single dark thought (maybe apart from the mention of Sabo's death), and a lot more on the romance side than the friendship side. It's only about Ace and Luffy, not a single mention about their crew. And I'm sure it will make Honeydee squeal once she reads the end :P**

**WARNING: Shounen-ai/yaoi, light, very very light.**

**By the way, tomorrow's my birthday!**

** So, for now, read on! 8th Theme: Novel!**

Luffy has always loved his big brother.

Ever since he met him, that day in front of Dadan's house, he had wanted to become his friend. He even went through hours of torture, not spilling a single word as to where Ace's and Sabo's treasure was. He was bleeding and hurt, each hit bringing him closer to unconsciousness. Jolt of pain ran through his whole body, but still he refused to spill a word. Because he didn't want to be alone anymore, he wanted to be Ace's friend. He didn't say a thing because he already loved Ace a lot. Once they became brother, his love for his brother had become a really deep admiration. Although he often picked up fight with him, it was mainly because he wanted to get his attention when the older two boys were talking about difficult things he couldn't understand. He felt left out, and he didn't like that. Ace was definitely stronger than him, and that made him to be the perfect model, and Luffy clung to him like a snail on an aquarium's glass. He wanted to train hard and defeat him, to become stronger, because he wanted to show Ace that he wasn't a child, but mostly because he didn't want to stay a burden for him, he didn't want to watch his back while he fought to protect him. When Sabo died, he only got more attached to him. As much as he was picking up fight with Ace before, it was Sabo who was comforting him and making him feel better. Before. Now, with Sabo gone, he only had Ace to turn to whenever he was feeling sad about Sabo, and whenever he had nightmares. When Ace opened up a little to him, hugging him in his sleep to give him the comfort Sabo could no longer give him, he was glad to be Ace's little brother. The time came when Ace left their home. He sailed the sea like he said he would, and once again, all Luffy could feel toward it was pride and admiration. That was what he always wanted to do: becoming a pirate. And Ace, being older, being the big brother, went ahead of him, like he always had been, and that only made Luffy feel like becoming even stronger. He was still a bit sad that he was now left alone in their small home, but happiness for his brother overthrew that easily, as well as excitement as he imagined setting off on his own and go beat the crap out of him, to show him how much stronger he had truly become.

Ace has always loved his little brother.

Although he constantly tried to kill him when they first met, he had to admit that Luffy might have saved his life. He was taken aback when he noticed that Luffy hadn't betrayed them, even through torture, even though he wasn't his friend. And when Luffy told him it was because he wanted Ace, he needed Ace, the boy felt as if he had been grant a reason to continue living. When they became brothers, Luffy's antics could only make him smile, and his cuteness pushed Ace to tease him a little, and his younger brother's pout were so much loveable that he couldn't help but do it all the time. He knew Luffy was a lot weaker than he was, but that didn't stop him from picking up fights with him. He wanted to protect his little brother, but he knew he couldn't always be there to protect him, and making the little boy stronger, even if only a tiny bit, was definitely the best options to choose. Although he really felt like letting Luffy be his defenceless little brother, he cared for him too much to put him in possible danger because he didn't teach him how to defend himself properly because of his selfish desires. However, when Sabo died, he only sunk in darker emotions. But then again, Luffy saved him from all of that. He had heard him cry over Sabo's death, alone, and that reminded him that he was needed. Luffy was sad and he needed someone to comfort him, and Ace needed someone to tell him that he had to live. He offered his arms to his little brother, who accepted it with relief. They had become closer than anybody, that much was certain. Or so he thought.

So, when the both of them met again, this time out to the sea, both stronger, both free, both older, both more... aware of themselves, they learned that they now were closer than anybody. Although they had been apart for a long time, without having any means of contacting each other, they had grown a lot more closer than they had thought possible.

When they saw each other again, their hearts beating fast with excitement, anticipation and, more importantly, _love_, they understood that when they were young, they didn't love each other, they simply appreciated each other's presence. What they were feeling now was a completely novel emotions for both of them. It was new, different from before, yet they knew it had always been buried deep inside of them.

That's why, as soon as their lips linked together, they knew this wasn't such a novel feeling after all. They had loved each other since the very beginning. What was really novel, though, was the way they were showing their affection.

**So, how did you like that? Please drop a review! Writing this chapter made me really happy, and now I can't seem to drop this stupid smile out of my face XD But do you know what could make it disappear? Not receiving any reviews from you readers...that would definitely make me sad, thinking I wrote this happy little cute couple and not be rewarded with your thoughts T_T**

** Did that make you happy Honeydee? Did you like the end?**

** I'm looking forward to share the next chapter with you: DOOM! Anyone has an idea for Freedom, Idle, Convention and/or Vampires?**

** By the way, thanks to all of those listed below for your constant support, for your interest in this challenge of mine and also simply for clicking the simple follow/favourite button that you all know so well:**

**- Honeydee (Golden Reader)**

**- mangakaa**

**- wuvesa**

**- FlightWulf**

**- Animorph128**

**- tantei-fox03**

**- Sawada Tsukumi**

**- Smally**

**- book reader-lover of 3000**

**- Lodowa Korona (Golden Reader)**

**- Ezaria**

**- mad100141 (Golden Reader)**

**- youshouldn'tneedtoknow**

**- FantasyOwl**

**- maybe143**

**- Kate-Fach**

**- BlueMoon1**

**- onegirl92**

**- Osadia**

**- FallenInfernoAngel**

**- yukiko hyuga-chan**

**- ichigi111kurosaki**

** See you next week!**

** Voxei**

**P.S. My poll is still open on my profile! PLEASE GO VOTE! THE FASTER YOU DO, THE BETTER THE BONUS THEME WILL BE!**


	10. Doom

**Hey everyone! This one is my second longest theme so far, and I dare say that I am pretty happy with how it ended up as. I say right now that I am not religious or anything, and I only used this because it seemed to be fitting really well with the theme. This is more a story than a drabble, and it takes place right after Akainu vs. Ace and it is from Ace pov.**

**Have fun reading!**

He was never one to believe into those kind of things, and that must have been the reason why he couldn't understand the situation for a while. He had felt the burning sensation spreading in his whole body before it went completely numb. His brother's tiny arms weren't embracing him anymore as his body fell on the dirty ground, completely lifeless. Lifeless, yet there he was, watching his brother's pained expression when he understood that Ace had died and could no longer be saved from his fate. He was there, bodiless, standing uselessly as the same fist that had killed him damaged his little brother badly. He couldn't do anything to protect him this time, and he had to admit that he was scared limitless for his life. He had died to protect him, bu he wouldn't bear to know it could be in vain in the end. That's why he was relieved when a man called Law was able to treat him. He had stayed in the operation room, unknown to everyone, while the doctor did his best to keep the younger pirate alive. It definitely wasn't a beautiful sight. There was blood everywhere. His brother's blood. Even though Luffy had been saved from the war, it didn't exactly mean that he would still survive. Even once he was done with the operation, there was still a chance, a bad one, that his wound would get infected and leave him to die in the end, or that he would bleed to death if it reopened and was left with no proper treatment. That's why, when Luffy finally woke up and went in a rampage at the remembrance of Ace's disappearance, he was worried like never before. He was completely destroying everything around him, leaving trails of blood behind as he yelled and punched in refusal. Ace wanted to tell him to stop what he was doing, to listen to him, that he was being stupid and reckless again and that he... that he couldn't save him anymore... But no matter how much he tried to cry out, not a word left his soul-like lips, no sound. So he was truly glad when Jimbei showed up and beat up some sense into his little brother. He was happy that the fishman kept his promise of taking care of the teen, but he was even more happy when he prevented Luffy from killing himself that way. And Luffy was left in tears, blaming himself for the so much unwanted separation, blaming himself for his weakness. And Ace, at that time, only wanted to hug him, tell him that, no, it wasn't his fault that he died, but his own because he was the one who acted recklessly and got captured in the first place. He wanted to tell him to move forward and continue on living in happiness. And to his greatest joy, Jimbei passed his message to Luffy, who realized that he still had his nakama. The last thing he saw before darkness started to engulf him was Luffy, his beloved little brother, crying of happiness and _relief_ for having found something worth living for.

He truly never was one to believe in that kind of things. That must be why, when he woke up as a soul in _that_ place, he choked. Compared to the previous days he spent as a ghost beside his living brother, he could feel the chains binding his wrists and ankles. He could see the flames acting as walls all around him. And he could smell the burning flesh and boiling blood sullying the air. He could hear the faraway pained cries of other souls like him being tortured. And when he felt the intense burning sensation in his back, he could finally make a sound as a yelp escaped his lips, mostly out of surprise. He was in Hell.

In this place, there was no day and no night. There was no hour, no minute, no second. There was no sky, no real walls and no ground. And there was no death. He spent what seems like an eternity, chained to the fire walls and being constantly whipped and burned by a lava whip. His soul body never went numb at the pain, so each strike was worse than the previous one. At first, he couldn't help but let out cries of pain, but a great number of hits ago, no sound, not a grunt, not a sob, not even a frown, was let in the open, because he knew he had to go through this. He had stolen before. He had killed. He had had sex without being married. He had felt gluttony, lust, pride, sloth, envy, greed and wrath. Every deadly sin. Receiving all of this was painful, but he had to go through it. Because Luffy had loved him, and still does. Because if Luffy knew, he would blame himself even more. Because if he showed him any weaknesses, Luffy would get too cocky again and laugh at him.

To his surprise, he was rewarded. He was brought into this wide grey place filled with many other souls. There were no walls, and again no sky. Just grey, everywhere. Souls were wandering hopelessly around, and he knew there was no exit to this place. He was often attacked by other souls, trying to kill him. The first time he was backstabbed, and he died. But here there is no death. And he weirdly "woke up" standing still in the middle of the same never-ending grey. He was never taken by surprise again. However, every time he was attacked, an odd voice kept on telling him to fight back. To _kill_. But he knew it was useless, because there was no death here. And Luffy wouldn't want that. That's why, when the voice became constant, telling him to hurt any soul that he crossed path with, he ignored it.

This time again he was rewarded. This was clearly a whore house. Lust in the eyes of every soul. To his bewilderment, it was fairly easy to ignore everything and not be tempted. In fact, it was disgusting him. Sure, he had done it with some women before, he even tried it with men, but this time it was different. And he knew why. Because that's when he noticed that all he cared about was his pure innocent little brother. He was the only one he truly loved, and he would not only feel like betraying him, but he just couldn't think doing anything like this with him. He loved him, more than in a brotherly way, but he just felt so _wrong_. It wasn't long before he got rewarded again.

This place was definitely a whole lot different from the others. This time, there was a ground. Made only of dust, ashes and rocks, but a ground nonetheless. And there was a sky. Well, if you consider a moonless and starless black hole above your head a sky. But, more importantly, there were buildings. Wooden structures that resembled very much like a rundown western village. Souls were again wandering, eyes void of emotion. That is, until some kind of faraway loud rumbling shook the whole place. Fear lit up in their eyes, and they started to run away. Either they tried to climb the rock walls contouring the town, or they hid in the houses. Ace, however, even though his whole being was filled with terror, stayed still. It wasn't because he was paralysed, like some people who only stared wide-eyed at the orange glow lighting the place, but rather because he didn't want to run. He had to confront it. Luffy would be highly disappointed in him if he just ran without even trying to fight. And even when an overly huge black shelled beast showed up, lava spilling from its open mouth like drool, burning the ground and only leaving a hole beneath, he stayed still. And when its glowing yellow eyes stopped on Ace's soul, silently saying that he had chosen its next prey, the man didn't falter. Instead, he turned all of his fear into strength, adrenaline rushing through his veins, and launched himself at the beast. He tried to fight it, and even when all his punches and kicks only resulted in him getting burned, which was extremely painful, he tried to fight until the end. Then end which was him getting eaten.

When he "woke up", it was just like nothing had happened at all. The place was intact, and the souls were back into wandering around without any purpose. Then it cam again. And again Ace fought. And again he suffered from his fight. And again he got killed. The same pattern happened again and again, and eventually their confrontations were lasting longer after each fight. Ace had long ago lost count of the number of times it happened, and he couldn't care less. All that truly mattered was to keep on fighting and to never run away. At some point, he had noticed that his soul body had started to change. Not only did it seem to get a little more used to the burning flames and lava, but he also seemed to get more muscled, and more tall than the other souls.

Then there was this single fight. During this fight, which lasted a lot longer than before, he was the only one left standing. Every other soul, except from himself, had already been eaten or killed by the beast. And it wasn't long after that that he no longer felt any pain from the fire, nor the lava. And he could control both element. He was wondering whether it was because he had regained his ability from the Mera Mera no Mi, or if it was some other odd thing from Hell. When he got killed again, pierced by a way too big fang, he got his answer. He "woke up" again, and upon exploring his body further, he understood. In both of his hands, two big hard long things stood on his forehead. Horns. He had become a demon, no longer just a soul. Not that it was a bad thing. He definitely grew stronger, a LOT stronger, and a smile crept up his face at his little brother's imagined reaction. Stars would definitely light up his eyes while he'd exclaim how cool his big brother had become. This thought was enough. That time, he defeated the beast.

Now, he was chained up in complete darkness. He couldn't move an inch, not even a millimetre. He was alone. He was bored. He didn't know if it was a real "test" from Hell or if it was punishment for having beat down th beast, but he didn't like it. He wanted to scream, to demand to be free from this place, but he refused to give in to impatience. He had gone through a lot ever since he died, for Luffy, and for his love for him, he wouldn't loose his cool yet. It was the only time he actually had time to think. He remembered everything that had happened when he was alive. And it felt like ages ago. He now fully realized how lonely he felt, how agonizing his fate truly was. He felt like he had been in this dark place for years already...

But then _he_ came. Out of nowhere. He simply appeared, walking over to him casually, with his big toothy grin lighting Ace's whole world up. He didn't know how he got there, but he knew that his little brother was really there. He had big beautiful fluffy wings on his back, completely outstretched as id telling ace to admire its black feathers. And grey orbs stared into grey, and a soft delicate hand, that he knew had a lot of fighting experience, rose to caress his cheek.

"I finally found you." The boy whispered, a light of joy in his eyes. And Ace cried. He cried for all the suffering her new that his little brother went through after his death. He cried for all the pain and agony that he felt while being tortured. He cried for the misery, loneliness and hardships that was brought upon him in this Hell. And he cried out of relief, because seeing the angel's wings on his brother's back meant that Luffy hadn't gone through all he went through. The boy pulled him into a hug and kissed his forehead in an attempt to comfort his big brother. And when he was asked what he was doing here, he knew he had to answer.

"I died. I became the Pirate King. I fulfilled my dream and helped my nakama reach their goals. But in the end, I got caught and executed. I ended up in Heaven, where everything was peaceful. But it wasn't perfect, because I couldn't find you. Then I met a man, and he told me you were here, and offered to bring me to you. I know who he was. Black angel wings. Fallen Angel. Lucifer. I was told he was a bad guy, but I knew he wasn't lying. So I followed him." To say Ace was surprised would be an understatement. But when he took a grip of his mind, he could only smile back. His pure innocent little Luffy had sinned, made a deal with the devil, became a fallen angel, only to see him.

The both of them stayed together in a warm embrace, observing the doom that had fell on them. But enjoying it nonetheless.

**How did you like that? I know I could have developed it a lot more than that, but I'm already working really hard on Dark Ages and I'm trying to move forward with the planning of future themes, so I just hope that you enjoyed it even if it was a little mixed up. Personally, I think I wrote it pretty well, although I might have moved things a little too fast with the brothers' reunion. Anyway, please PLEASE leave a review! To make me happy? A review means more than a cookie, even if it's just "I liked it" or "it was good" or even "I didn't like it".**

**This theme could actually be used for a complete fic, one-shot or not. Someone could even want to write from Luffy's pov, too. So if anyone's interested in taking this idea to make it into a more developed fic, you just have to ask me!**

**Thanks to all of those who are sticking up with me through all of this big challenge!**

**And by the way, the poll for the bonus theme is stille opened! PLEASE GO VOTE!**

**See you Monday to those who read Dark Ages, or see you next Friday to those who only read 100 Themes Challenge!**

**Voxei**


	11. Garden

**Hello everyone! I almost completely forgot to publish this... I really just remembered to do so! College is starting soon and, yeah, my head is somewhere else :P Anyway, it is still here, so please read on!**

**WARNING: This theme is rated M for violence and mention of rape and prostitution... I just really had to tell you.  
**

"SHANKS!" The boy cried out, panic taking over his being. The older man was knelt in front of their Master, a guard pining him down and another holding an axe high in the air, waiting for the signal to bring it down. Everything was the boy's fault, and at the moment he wanted so die so badly...

His father had been defeated by his enemy when Luffy was still a young child, and it was a custom to take your defeated enemy's sons as your slaves. However, instead of become a simple normal slave, Luffy was sold to a brothel, where he was trained as a male prostitute. Shanks was also a slave there, and had been his tutor since the very beginning. He liked him a lot, because unlike the other temporary tutors he's had, he was kind, understanding and joyful. And, more importantly, he allowed Luffy to learn at his own pace. However, when the owner forced a man on him, his first customer, he wasn't ready. He was scared, and he pushed the way older man off of him and ran away. He didn't go far though. He only rushed into the next room, Shanks' room, and cried in his arms. But then the guards came in, along with the Master, and stole him from his tutor's arms, accusing him of having spoiled his reputation. He wanted to kill the boy. He was being irrational, the guards knew that. Even if he was only a slave, their murder was still considered a crime. The owner had to assist in a trial to decide the boy's fate. That's why they went outside at the town's outskirt. He didn't care about the procedure, and just ordered them to kill the child. And Shanks realized his mistake. He hadn't trained the boy fast enough, and the sudden task that has been given to him had scared him, because he didn't know what was happening. And now the child was punished for it. That's why Shanks offered his life instead, and since he was way older and thus less... desirable, the Master accepted.

One of the guards was holding Luffy while he screamed his tutor's name, but no one listened to him. The axe was up in the air, promising a fast and almost painless death. Scared of loosing the only one caring for him, the boy cried. He cried. He prayed. He prayed to Zeus to save Shanks. He prayed to Poseidon to save Shanks. He prayed to every Gods and Goddesses he knew to save Shanks, but no one answered his call. Desperate, he prayed, pleaded, and begged to the only God left he hadn't named yet: Hades.

He came.

* * *

The young man was wandering in the streets of Athena, looking at the humans walking all around him completely oblivious of his identity. The gentle wind was ruffling his wavy black hair that fell on his shoulders, and this was one of the things that he will always love on Earth. He loved the nature, it was pure and perfect, and this was the only reason he would wander here on his own accord. On the other hand, society disgusted him, and he was reminded why when he heard a call. A human calling out to him. It was the voice of a chile, a desperate child that needed his help, and Hades obliged. He showed himself to the boy, time stopping at his appearance, and took a good look at the situation. He was at the outskirt of town, next to the forest he loved so much. The boy was knelt before him, a soldier restraining his arms behind his back. The child – so pure and innocent – dove his grey orbs into his, not fearing the sudden appearance, but instead seemingly felt relief wash over him.

* * *

Hades had answered his call. He was there, right in front of him. He clearly was not what he thought he would be like; after all, he was the ruler of the dead, he was said to be selfish, prideful, and that he looked like an old man practically never leaving his mansion's comfort. But there, in front of the boy, stood a young beautiful man, raven hair, night eyes, slightly tanned skin, and clearly not old nor gloomy. He wore a weird outfit, completely new to the child's eyes, consisting of black shorts hiding half of his knees. He had an orange western-styled hat on top of his head, hiding his face from the moonlight. His chest was bare, showing strong muscle and promising protection. However, the boy knew this man was none other than the God of the Underworld, Hades.

The freckled man raised an eyebrow as he tried to understand the situation the boy was in. He was half naked, held by a soldier, probably to avoid letting him run away. He didn't seem to be any older than ten years old, and upon seeing the scar on his chest made from burning iron, he remembered one of the reasons why he hated human society so much. The child had been branded as a whore, at ten years old! It was seriously disgusting. Looking around him, Hades discovered an older red-headed man, also restrained by a soldier while another one held an axe, ready to cut the man's head. Before all of them stood a noble, wearing silk coloured clothes and expensive jewelry, watching the scene with a smile on his lips. He was definitely mentally sick. As he saw all of this, Hades knew exactly what was the boy's wish, but he had to make sure of one thing first.

"Boy, would you go as far as to die for this man's safety?" He nodded. "Good. Would you be willing to stay a slave for this man's safety?" He nodded again, and Hades couldn't help but smirk as he continued. "Will you offer me your soul to work for me once your body is buried properly?" The firm head's movement up and down was his answer. "What is your name, boy?"

"Monkey D. Luffy." He only spoke the necessary, determination piercing through his voice. He would do anything as long as the red-headed was kept alive. The God smiled; he had gotten himself a new servant so easily.

"I'll be waiting for you in the Underworld, Monkey D. Luffy." Right after he disappeared, time suddenly came back to normal and everything went too fast for the boy. The axe was brought down swiftly, and blood stained the soil. However, it was not Shanks' blood, because his tutor had been pushed away by a wild wolf who had pulled him into the forest, holding the man's arms between his teeth. Instead, the axe had cut clean the other soldier's arm who had tried to keep the slave from getting away.

That night, Luffy got punished. He wasn't whipped, like he should have been, because that would have left scars that would diminish his value as a whore. Instead, his Master forced him to live near-death experiences by choking and drowning him. And when he got tired of this little game, he decided to become Luffy's new tutor. He raped him. It had been the longest and the most painful night of his whole short life, but Luffy was happy nonetheless. Because he knew Shanks' had been saved. The owner sent soldiers after him in the forest, but he never found him.

Years passed since that night, and now Luffy was a teen, almost a young adult. He had gotten used to receive customers every night, and sometimes he would receive several men in a single night, an other fewer times women would accompany his customers. He had gotten used to it, but never did he like it and always did it hurt the next morning. Ever since he had lost his virginity to that man, the owner would "give him lessons" once in a while and take advantage of the boy's body. He never liked it, and when he felt like crying and running away, he always thought of Shanks and it calmed him down. One day, he'd be able to buy his own liberty, and he would find Shanks and live with him.

His dreams were sadly crushed that one particular evening, when his Master brought him to a masked ball. The older man met with a young noble, brown hair, blue eyes, in private. He received lots of money and left, leaving Luffy behind, and the teen understood. He had been sold. The older man profited of this intimated moment to test his new slave, and forced himself on the younger boy. However, Luffy was sick and tired of all of this and tried to defend himself. He pushed, punched, kicked, bit, but that only resulted in making his new owner furious. Never in his life would he have thought someone would do this to him. The noble took out a knife and plunged it right into his stomach. Luffy froze, surprised by the sudden wound and became really scared as he felt the blood flow out of his wound each thrust the man was making. He felt his consciousness leave him soon after his new owner had satisfied himself deep inside his slave.

* * *

Ace couldn't believe it. The pure and innocent soul that he had claimed a few years ago was about to die from blood loss, and since he didn't have anymore family, no one would claim hi body and bury it properly, meaning he wouldn't be allowed to retrieve the boy's soul to make him work for him like he wanted to. The boy was just so pure and innocent, he was perfection, and something about him made the God to be overly possessive of him. He _wanted_ to have him. That's why he sent Sabo, much to the older man's surprise.

"Why would you break a rule to get a single soul?" The blonde asked. He wanted an answer out of Hades, he needed an answer. He wouldn't go if it wasn't anything satisfying.

"Sabo, can't you see him? His soul radiates perfection! Not a single stain taint his pure soul! Don't tell me you don't mind letting such innocence wander a thousand years on the Styx's shore, where it could easily become dark in a matter of seconds!" Ace responded, looking at the dying body of the human. Sabo had to admit that the boy's soul was indeed something rare nowadays and would definitely be a waste to leave it on the shore. Anyway, since when did HE, the angel of death, Charron, Hades' servant, Ace's older brother, ever cared to follow the rules?

With that thought, he left the Underworld and appeared before the almost dead Luffy, and pulled his soul away from his agonizing body, leaving it for dead.

When the boy woke up, as a soul, he was in a black wooden boat floating on a blood red river. A blond beautifully dressed man was silently rowing the boat forward. As soon as they passed some kind of black non-existing wall, the whole scenery changed, and Luffy understood that he was now in the Underworld. He looked back at his guide, whose appearance slightly changed too. Black angel wings and wolf ears were added to his body. So that man was Charron, the angel of death, who must be bringing him to the ruler of this place. Sabo smiled at the shining pure soul sitting in the boat beside him and opened his arms widely.

"Welcome to Hades' Garden!"

**Well... it's something totally new, an idea that suddenly popped into my head all of a sudden. I did a bit of research on Greek mythology for this... synopsis of a possible future fic I plan on doing. Although I really like the idea personally, I do not plan on working on the full independent fic of this, since I want to focus on the 100 Themes Challenge and on my big Middle Age fic called Dark Ages. Also, I want to know if you liked the idea, and depending on the answers, I might start writing this fic faster than planned :P It all depends on you!**

**To my guest reviewer, DIANA, I am so very glad that you liked the 10th chapter, Doom. I want to thank you for your review.**

**Thanks to all of my other reviewers to whom I already replied. If I did not, it must be because I have forgotten, and you can just send me a pm to tell me and I'll be sure to leave a proper reply soon. **

**Also, I am sorry for the inconvenience of last chapter. Most of you were probably unable to leave a review, and it is simply because I deleted the Notification chapter, thus the website considered that you have already left a review for the previous chapter. There should be no more problem now, so please, LEAVE A REVIEW! XD**

**To end it all, I still have a poll open on my profile about this fic's bonus theme, and I desperately need you to go place your vote so I can start working on the bonus theme faster, to make it better and longer :P**

**Thanks to you all,**

**Vox**


	12. Sadness

**Ok, so here I am! This theme was a bit hard to write, but at least I did it! I don't have much to say, other than I'm tired. It's currently 5h40 right now, and I'm leaving for school in 10 minutes (cause I live 2 hours away and I start at 8...) Anyway, I updated! Rejoice!**

This had been such a tragedy for the young pirate captain. He had went through Hell, he battled every admirals, the Shichibukai, he fought in a war against the Marines, was even able to deliver his beloved brother from his chains, from his death, only in the end to see it all backfired at him. In a small moment of weakness, his brother lost his life to protect him. His brother, the one he had sacrificed so much to save, ended up dying.

However, that young pirate captain was right there, willing to learn whatever I had to teach him, because to him the past was the past, and he didn't want to live this moment in regrets. He had a goal more important than to mourn. He had friends to protect, and a dream to achieve. A difficult one at that. And he was ready to throw his regrets away for that, because he had to. He had to be strong for those who followed him and depended on him. He had already overcome the obstacle that was his sadness. He had already mourn for him. Now, he had to go forward.

That's why I gave my all to teach him all I had to teach him. At first, he had a hard time to keep up with whatever I was showing him, but it didn't take him to long to adapt to it. In fact, he was a pretty fast learner. When I told him, he had started bouncing everywhere, overjoyed to know of his progress and to know that he'd definitely be a lot stronger the next time he meets up with his nakama. He even took my lessons as games, and he had much fun to learn.

But I knew better. I knew the circles under his eyes becoming darker and darker every day. I knew they came from sleepless nights, diving in a sea of emptiness. I knew the happy smiled he showed came from a powerful dream that kept him from sinking into nothingness. I knew that dream was overtaking his being at day, but letting him fall alone at night. I knew the determination in his eyes was not to become stronger for his friends, but to stay in his imaginary world. I knew all of that because I went through it myself, years ago, when my family succumbed to the spears of justice. And I knew that if it kept up, Luffy would eventually destroy himself, like I almost did, and I didn't want his story to end that way. That boy looked a lot like like Roger in many ways, and I wanted him to live fully, not in denial.

That night, much to my relief, the boy tried to sleep. And he fell asleep. His breathing was even and his face held absolute peace, but deep inside I knew it was temporary. Either that would disappear when he waked up in the morning or... He gasped. He started to frown, and his mouth opened in a silent scream. Or... he'd wake up to a nightmare of that day. And he did. He woke up, sitting up straight in his temporary leaves bed, cold sweat lingering on his body and choking for air. Yes, he was choking, panic clear in his eyes, and I could do nothing to help him. I tried to calm calm him, rubbing comforting circles on his back, shushing him with soft words, but his panic only grew, and that's when I noticed he had not woken up yet. He was still caught in his nightmare, and I had to pull him away from there before anything bad happens. I called out to him, I shook him up, I pinched his nose, I slapped him, all in an attempt to wake him up, but to no avail. In the end, he only fell back down, exhausted, and he did not went back into dreamland. He most likely fell unconscious from the lack of oxygen.

The next morning, he looked even worse than before. Not only did he still have the dark circles under his eyes, but he also had no energy left. He was easily loosing his concentration during my lessons and he was weak. So terribly weak, it felt wrong. That boy was not supposed to be like this, he was not meant to live that way. He was slowly killing himself in his denial.

"Luffy" I started as he slumped down his back against a huge tree. "This has gone long enough." He fainted ignorance, lifting his eyebrow questioningly. "Your brother is dead." He simply frowned at me, his onyx eyes looking deep within my own, as if searching for the real meaning behind those words. There was none.

"I know that already." He said firmly, giving me one of his usual fantasy-lived smile. This was wrong. He shouldn't suppress his feelings like that. I crouched in front of him, hiding the moonlight from his fake grin, and enveloping his slim body within my arms. He tensed a bit and held his breath, as if fearing to simply let go.

"It's okay, Luffy. You can let it go." He silently breathed in, wondering if he should just ignore the words, before finally answering.

"There's nothing to let go of." His voice was still firm, but I could sense his frame starting to shake slightly, not because he was crying, but because he was scared. "Besides, I have to get stronger." And I knew he wasn't talking about his fighting skills. I shook my head in disapproval, pushing him away to arms length.

"You're only hurting yourself that way. What do you want to prove? To whom? You're living in a fantasy, Luffy. Your brother is dead, you have to accept it." His eyes widened without his consent, and his fear took over him. His lower lip quivered even though he was biting it in n attempt to stop the unwanted movement.

"I know that already!" His voice gained in volume, and his body trembled a lot more beneath my hands. "I don't have time for this! I have to go back to my nakama! They need me, and I can't let myself be brought down by something useless such as these feelings!" He yelled desperately, his hands clenching at his sides while his fear transformed into anger. "I don't want to be a burden to them..." That first whisper meant the beginning of a new feeling, although not completely novel.

"Luffy, you'll just be even more of a burden to them if you can't let go." I pushed him toward the limits of the much feared feeling. I pulled him in another hug, holding his head on my shoulder with a hand while the other held his back near me. "You can cry, Luffy. You have to cry. Crying is not an act of weakness. It only means you endured great difficulties, but it also meant that you lived through them. It will make you stronger than ever, because I know you will learn from that experience, and make sure that it will never happen again, be it to you, or even to one of those precious crew members of yours. I know you won't let your family suffer the same things you lived through." I heard him release a breath he was holding in for a long time, longer than it possibly could. He knew I was right, and hearing me tell all of this must have felt like a weight removed from his shoulders. "If you just hold it all in, it will forever bring you down with it." His hands timidly grasped the fabric of my shirt, and his forehead fell heavily on my shoulder. "So, just let it go." And he did. He buried his face on my chest, holding my clothes like it was his last means of survival, and broke down into sobs. His tears were flowing freely down his cheeks, sniffling only once in a while, and he cried desperately while his voice drifted away with the wind. It was silent. He was mourning for his dead brother, for their unkept promises, for their lost childhood memories. He was crying, not because he was angry at the executor, nor because he was relieved to have found his new light, nor because he felt regrets for failing to save him. He cried because he had lost his second brother, the one he had such a deep and tight bound with. He cried because he would never spend more time with him, like he was supposed to. He cried because the last time he saw him he thought it wouldn't be the last. He only cried because he was sad. Right now, at this very instant, Monkey D. Luffy, the captain of the Strawhat Pirates, the man who vowed to become the Pirate King, was only just who he really was: a lonely orphan mourning for his dead last family member. He was just a child, at I could only feel one thing as I pulled him closer, holding him tighter, a hand on his head and the other rubbing circles on his back. I could only feel one thing as I tried to comfort the one who'll become my family's successor. I could only feel one things as I thought about the man who had changed the world even after his death. I could only feel one thing as my body started to shake as much as the one I was holding, and as tears started to spill from my clenched eyes without my consent.

I couldn't deny the sadness in my heart any longer. That night, I cried, just like the child in my arms, for the heavy feeling of sadness that had weight me down for so many years. And it was such a deliverance.

I always wanted to say that. Luffy, maybe you lost many friends in that fight, maybe you sacrificed a lot of things, maybe you lost your brother that day, maybe you lost numerous fights and maybe you came back from there hurt, pained, broken, on the verge of death, regretful, and sad. But, you were able to bring people together. You were able to survive all of this, and you were able to change something. I always wanted to tell you that.

Luffy, thank you for saving me.

**So, what did you think of that? I'm not confident I did it right... basically, in this fic, it's not Luffy's sadness we're talking about (we are, but that's not the point), it's Rayleigh's. I just thought... he never really mourned Roger's death. I think... Anyway, I hope you liked that chapter! PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW! YOU KNOW I LOVE THEM!**

**Also, the poll for the bonus chapter is still open, so please go leave a vote! It's really important for me...**

**I NEED HELP PLEASE! I have school, it started this week, and somehow I don't have much time to think about the next themes, so please help me out. Anything that pass through your head, you can tell me. The themes I will be working on are:**

**- Freedom**

**- Inevitable**

**- Idle**

**- Vampires**

**- Convention**

**And I'm thinking... of something you won't like. I'm thinking of doing a little pause in my updates, maybe two weeks, so I can get used to my new schedule and advance in the themes I just mentioned. I want to have a few themes in advance, so in case anything happens (you know, with exams and all, you never know when you have time...) I want to have a few themes already ready to be published if I can't write them... What's your opinion for that?**

**THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT, AND AGAIN PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR IDEAS! I NEED THEM!**

**MemoriesOfVoxei**


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